Well, the first quarter of 2010 is behind us already. The recap:
Good News: Got a big raise recently that make a huge impact on the savings front. We plan on socking away the difference and replacing my hubby's truck (he drives a '94). Will replace with another good used truck with no car payment. Because I am allergic to car payments.

Bad News: Medical debt reached $2K in 1st quarter due to a recent leukemia diagnosis. No treatment yet as stage is early. Repeat work ups every 3 months but I have met my deductible so....

You never know what life is going to give you. You just have to take it in stride. That is my philosophy.

Today anyway.

Fingers feel frozen. Can't warm up. Wish I had some chili...

I have decided to track my no-spend days. Today was day 1. Took a nice breakfast (oatmeal with almonds) and lunch (pita sandwich and yogurt) to work today. I even took snacks to prevent trips to the vending machine. So, no spending today. It feels good.

I have planned all the meals this week and did my grocery shopping yesterday accordingly. Tonight it is grilled pork chops and veggies. Not chili, but pretty darn tasty.

My Microsoft Money if refusing to cooperate and load my accounts. I considered a switch over to Quicken, but decided over the weekend to continue just using my spreadsheet. It has been working well over the past few months that MSN Money has been difficult.

DD and I made $40 pet sitting over the holiday. We split it and mine went into the change jar. Once I hit $100 in loose change, I am going to open another savings account.

First date night of the year scheduled for this Friday. For my birthday, I got tickets to see one of my all-time favorite musicians. I cannot wait. Working on lining up babysitting.

This weeks organization focus is the living room. It appears we may be under invasion by a mad army of Legos.

Well, I have been away a while but things have improved since I was last around. Hubby got a job--he was officially unemployed for 18 months. He is working for a smallish start-up company gaining a foothold in green business. He is making much less money but loving it. Less stress and he feels good about doing something worthwhile.

Financially, him having a job and having a few paychecks under our belt feels wonderful. I have big plans for the coming year and have decided to do my goal setting based on quarters. So, I have set my goals for the first quarter of 2010 (see sidebar) and am feeling pretty good.

I had a rather large, old debt hanging over my head from previous years that I decided I wasn't going to carry into 2010. I owed $1800 and in November decided I didn't care if we had to go really cheap on Christmas, I was paying it off. Paid $900 in November and have paid $500 so far this month. I have an automatic draft coming out on 12/31 for the remaining $400.

And, it got me to thinking. We survived those big payments. I think I have made saving money harder than it needed to be. I have gained some perspective in the past couple of months. I am going to continue plugging away at debt and I am going to start building up the savings account. Since hubby gets paid every other Friday, we happen to have an extra Friday in January. And that check will start the new savings account.

I am excited about the prospects that the new year will bring.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Well, I have decided that with the current financial situation (hubby's layoff) that I prefer to make short term goals. So I am making a plan for the next two weeks to finish out May in the black (hopefully).

Projected income:
1.5/19 Hub Unemployment $378
2.5/23 Me FT job $982.00
3.5/27 Hub Unemployment $378
4.5/31 Me PT Job $404.00
5.Refund check Ins $459.00
Total $2601.00

Right now, my biggest worry is the payment for our COBRA insurance, which is due 6/1 and will be $1996.00. We will probably be able to squeak by, but it definitely doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room. Hub has decided to look for a part time job (he can work a certain number of hours a week and not lose is unemployment money). We will see what happens.